Wildstorm Stories
by shanejayell
Summary: Chapter One: Days after World's End. Set after Number of the Beast, focusing on two minor characters there. Lesbian content. Two: Rebuilding.
1. After World's End

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters in Number of the Beast, they all belong to Jim Lee, Wildstorm Publications and DC comics. If I did own them, they'd probably be appearing in better stories. This story has characters engaging in lesbian activities, if that is not your thing, I'd suggest skipping it.

Number of the Beast

The days after the Apocalypse.

The tidal waves that spread out over the planet had begun to receede after a few days, but the devastation around the planet was astounding. Cities were rubble, millions were dead and the world, quite literally, would never be the same.

And it was all the fault of short sighted people who set in motion a scheme to control and use superhumans. Over fifty years ago six hundred and sixty six superheroes and villains were transported involuntarily into a alien virtual reality system, where they had been held until recently. The addition of the High, one of the most powerful beings on the planet, into the virtual reality destabilized it, allowing some of them to realize they were in a illusion.

The second part of the government's madness was then revealed. During the time High had been captive the fools had cloned him. A army of somewhat deranged, nearly uncontrollable clones were launched to stop the rogue superhumans, but went rogue themselves. The modern heroes stopped a few but most of the clones wreaked incredible harm then self-destructed, spreading bursts of hazardous radiation too. The only good thing to come of all this was that the madmen who started all this had died in the chaos after the blasts.

Midnight Rider stood in the sunlight dressed in her fighting leathers, her red hair tied up in a simple ponytail. A black domino mask was on her face, her leather jacket open enough to distract a enemy with the curves of her breasts while her legs were sheathed in tight leather pants. She was beautiful like a sharp knife or a sword, dangerous to play with casually.

The pier she was standing on was still wet from the flood, and Midnight Rider carefully watched her footing as she moved forward to look out over the water. Around her the old wood was battered but still solid, bits of seaweed and harbor filth clinging to nails and boards.

There was a splash out in the water and Midnight Rider brightened a bit as she saw the shape gracefully cut through the blue. As the sunlight glittered off the waves she rose from the sea, light red hair flowing over golden skin, her pupil and iris-less blue eyes shining with joy as she bounced up onto the pier.

"Enjoy your swim, Neri?" Midnight Rider smiled up at her lover Seafarer.

"I did, Tessa," Neri agreed as she stepped forward into the safety of Tessa's arms.

They held each other for a moment, only separating reluctantly as they remembered their duties. "Do you think the others are all right?" Tessa had to ask her, the two walking to where a salvaged motorcycle waited for them.

In the final battle against the High clones they had been captives aboard the Authority's Carrier. To save them the hero called the Doctor had used the Carrier's shift-doors to send them all away, but apparently in a semi-random way. It had only been dumb luck that Tessa and Neri had found each other, and they had no idea where the others were.

Neri smiled a bit sadly as they reached the bike. "They're all tough people," she reminded her, "survivors. If anyone can make it, they can."

"That's true," Tessa agreed as she swung up onto the bike's seat. It was rather comforting that with all the years that had passed, she could still figure out how to hot wire a motorbike. The engine revved up as Neri climbed up on the back, wrapping her arms around Tessa's waist. "Is the water still rising?" she called.

"About another foot!" Neri answered as they drove down deserted city streets on the way out of the city. "At least," she added, frowning worriedly.

Tessa cursed softly. The planet had been literally knocked off it's axis, only heroic efforts preventing things from getting even worse. The ice-caps were rapidly melting, according to one of the few broadcasting radio stations, and sea levels were swelling upwards. Theoretically a new icecap would form where ever the new north pole was, but until then the climate would be messed up.

The little camp up in the hills held the pitiful survivors from the town, many of them hauled on top of buildings during the initial floods by Neri and Tessa. Once the main flood receded they went to the ground, making their way out of the city and reaching higher ground. The men and women looked at the two heroes with wary tiredness, a understandable reaction since supers were being blamed for the whole disaster.

Once she parked the bike Tessa smiled grimly, "Waters are still rising, folks. I think we're going to need to attempt a major salvage operation, soon."

"We can probably find a few trucks that run," Jack admitted, his messy brown hair falling into his eyes. A older man he had emerged as something of a leader of the survivors, serving as a bridge between them and the heroes.

"There should be some supermarkets we can hit," Neri said seriously, "we need to get as much canned food and bottled water as we can. Not to mention any gear we could use in fall and winter."

"I'm not looking forward to winter," Tessa grimaced, shaking her head. A earlier supply run had found a camping store and enough tents for them all, but summer camping and winter survival would be very different things.

"Got a plan?" Jack asked curiously.

Tessa looked out at the city, taking in the bridge and the hills. "I'm tempted to just stay here," she admitted, "find a few buildings we can fortify, maybe."

"Your worried about gangs?" Neri made a face.

Not long after the survivors had made their way out of the city a band of ragged survivors had came down the road and attacked them. The heroines and a few of the men had managed to drive them off, but if there had been more of them it could have gone the other way.

"Yeah, but there's another problem," Tessa said with a sigh. She looked at Jack, "You've lived here a long time, right?"

"Yeah?" Jack answered warily, "since Tim and I moved here back in the eighties."

"I've been talking to a few people," Tessa said with a sigh. "They all seem to agree it's colder than it should be, this time of year."

Jack's eyes widened. "You think the environment is changing," he murmured, "colder weather?"

Neri's own eyes widened, "Probably. I could feel the ocean currents out there, the water is colder than it should be,"

"And I didn't see many houses with winter setups or chimneys," Tessa sighed. "If it gets really cold, we could be in trouble."

"So you want to head inland to find somewhere better to hole up if we need to," Jack nodded. He met their eyes, "The others won't like it, but I'll sell them on the idea."

"Thank you," Neri smiled at him warmly.

Jack took a few steps then stopped. "Oh," he looked back at them with a wry sort of amusement, "you really don't need to sneak into each other's tent at night. This is San Francisco. No one will care!"

Both Neri and Tessa blinked, looking at him in surprise as he strode away. "You know," Tessa admitted after a moment, "I think I could get to like this era."

Neri held onto Tessa's arm, "Me too." She looked rather impish as she gazed up at Tessa, "Maybe I won't have to try to keep my voice down as usual too."

"Neri!" Tessa blushed furiously as her lover laughed.

The End...?

Notes: A short character set up for the comic series Number of the Beast. Unusually, this couple is CANON in the comic book. Sadly, DC comics hasn't done much with them since, which is rather annoying. Still, we can hope!


	2. Rebuilding

Wildstorm Stories

Rebuilding

The Monitor of the Fiftieth universe frowned disapprovingly as he shifted through the wreckage left by the great disaster, a regal figure in science-fictional looking armor. The gods had seemingly left this universe behind, their final acts breaking their toys and leaving only chaos and confusion in their wake. The Monitor did not have to repair the damage, of course, but watching a world of ruins would be a waste of time.

The Monitor reached through the fabric of the universe, seeking a certain thread, and in moments a dazed looking man appeared before him. His brown hair fell into wide eyes, and he floated in the void in a state of shock.

Jeroen Thorndyke, also known as the Doctor, looked around him as he muttered, "Either this is the worst trip ever or I'm back in the superhero biz."

"I am the Monitor of this reality, and I need your assistance, Doctor, if we are to save it," the Monitor told him calmly.

"Why me?" Jeroen complained as he adjusted his round spectacles, "I was a mess as the Doctor. Hell, I'm dead, I think!"

"Death is not necessarily an obstacle," the Monitor noted. He tilted his head as he asked, "You will not help?"

Jeroen frowned, but seemed to take in the strange unreality they floated in, looking over the universe. "Damn, it's a mess," he noted, "beginnings and ends don't match up, people in impossible eras, some dead then not with no explaination..."

"Indeed," the Monitor agreed, "the people of the universe are suffering."

"I can't fix it alone," Jeroen noted, frowning thoughtfully, "this time/space/dimension stuff is all a bit beyond me."

"Then I will bring another expert," the Monitor noted, gesturing.

In a flash of pink she appeared in the emptiness, the silver skinned figure looking startled as she looked around. Nikola Hanssen looked around her in confusion, the silvery skin of Void flowing over her body. "I was on the Carrier, trying to fix the universe," she blinked, trying to figure out what was going on.

"It has been several years since then," the Monitor nodded towards the wreckage of the universe, "things have not gone well."

Nikola took in the rubble of the universe, her inhuman perceptions opening up to see the tangled webs and damaged logic. "It's horrible," she murmured.

"That it is," the Doctor agreed, "which is why we've gotta try to fix it."

The Monitor watched as she instantly agreed, but then the two fell into a argument over ways and means. Jeroen asserted that they needed to restore the universe to what it was, while Nikola wanted to try to make it a better place for mainstream humanity.

"Right now the humans you care so much about are diggin' through rubble looking for food," Jeroen noted dryly. He shrugged as he added, "Say what you will, but even with all the crazy superheroes running around at least we kept this sort of thing from happening."

"True enough," Nikola conceded, wondering if her attempt to 'reboot' the universe had actually lead to this mess. "So, can we just put everything back?"

"Don't think so," Jeroen frowned as he studied the tangled ball of space time, reality alternity stuff that was floating in the emptyness, "There are pieces damaged and missing." He looked at the Monitor, "You wouldn't have files on our world, would you?"

"I do," the Monitor admitted, "but I would be breaking my people's rules if I let you look at them." He smiled slightly, "But I think these might be useful."

In a burst of light a pile of books dropped to the 'floor' they were all floating on. Nikola picked one up, blinking at the cover, "Planetary?"

Jeroen snapped up a book, looking at it wide eyed. "Holy shit, it's a Planetary Guide." When Nikola looked at him blankly he explained, "The Planetary Guide is published yearly, to a very exclusive set of people. It's the secret history of the world, which nobody but the few who experience it and Planetary know about."

"So we can use these...," Nikola brightened.

"To help rebuild history," Jeroen nodded eagerly, "and I can consult with the previous Doctors too, for more information." He looked at the Monitor and asked, "I assume you'll let us grab others, if we need them?"

"If needed," the Monitor frowned faintly.

Together they worked, Nikola and Jeroen combining their powers to restructure the damaged, badly broken universe and restoring to some sense of normalicy. It wasn't quite what it had been in earlier times, but it seemed stable and largely freed of the chaos that had surrounded it.

"That's done it," Nikola finally sighed tiredly, the silver skinned woman nearly drooping in exhaustion as they gazed out at a blue green Earth recovered from the disasters that had struck it so recently. Along with the usual space junk the Carrier circled it protectively, as did the United Nations space station Skywatch.

"You do good work," Jeroen clapped her on the shoulder. He frowned slightly, "Too bad we couldn't find what was left of my successor."

"Then I guess that means you're back on the job, Doctor," Nikola smiled at him tiredly. She got up from where she was kneeling on the 'floor' and stretched tiredly. She looked at the Monitor, "Thank you for what you did, bringing us here to fix everything."

The Monitor shrugged slightly, as if it wasn't important. "I will return you to the world below," he gestured, "but I suspect we'll meet again."

Alone once again the Monitor focused his perceptions on the universe and it's Earth, trying to get the 'high points' as it were...

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

In a prehistory dating long before human history, the Daemonites and Kherubims fought a war in the stars, ships flashing and dying in the void. Eventually the war would come to Earth's solar system, where two mighty vessels crashed, the survivors spreading out across the planet.

Daemonites and Kherubims continued their war on earth covertly, even as they bred with receptive humans and generated superhuman potential in their offspring. Alongside them heroes were born of chance and fate, some fighting beside the aliens, some against and others for their own side. The impact the aliens had on history was immense, even from those 'responsible' enough not to interfere too directly.

An added wild card were the mysterious 'century babies,' children born to embody forces and concepts and meant to protect humanity. The Doctor, various Jenny's and other beings appeared again and again, watching over their fellows.

The Twentieth century saw the rapid birth of superhumans, caused by alien DNA and outside factors like mysterious comets, extradimensional energies and the Gen factor. Team Zero, Team One and eventually the infamous Team Seven left their marks on the mid century, and into the future.

The United Nations, realizing the potential both for good and harm that superhuman's represented, formed the UN agency 'Stormwatch.' Recruiting from those touched by the 'Comet Effect' along with other superhumans they established the primary superhuman peacekeeping organization, but ironically also kicked off a superhuman arms race as countries and organizations all fought to establish their own forces.

As the Twentieth Century drew to a close the mysterious Elijah Snow and his Planetary organization faced the Four and paid a terrible cost. But even without their leader Planetary fought on, determined to prevent the greedy Four from denying the wonders of the Universe to the common man.

The covert war between the Daemonites and Kherubims exploded into the public eye as the Wild C.A.T.s formed for mutual protection and to foil the schemes of the Daemonites. Lord EMP aka the midget Jacon Marlow formed the team both to protect himself and to learn more about his past, a past that for now was a frustrating void.

International Operations, a covert group working for the United States, felt the lack of a superhuman team and set out to create their own, gathering the children of Team Seven. However this 'Gen 13' as they came to be called proved uncooperative, eventually escaping the IO facility with original team member Lynch and going rogue.

Stormwatch faced many challenges and threats, but the attack of a alien xenomorph nearly ended the team. In the aftermath, Century Baby Jenny Sparks took the survivors of Stormwatch and created the Authority, basing themselves in a alien super-carrier floating around the Earth.

The Authority were originally hailed as great heroes, stopping three planetary threats. However, when the team overthrew a military dictatorship, much alarm was felt by several nations. Under pressure from the United States, China and Russia the UN refinanced Stormwatch, one of their unofficial duties to be a possible deterrent to Authority attempting another regime change.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

The Monitor drew back his consciousness, even as he returned to his unique ship. 'The world isn't what it was,' he mused, 'but at least it's stable once more.' He would need to study it closer over time, but for now it would wait. He needed to check with the Monitor of New Earth, letting him know about the changes here and how they might impact his own universe.

There was much to do, and many wonders still to see...

End

Notes: 'The gods had seemingly left this universe behind, their final acts breaking their toys and leaving only chaos and confusion in their wake. ' refers to the Worlds End event and the decision by DC comics to shut Wildstorm down.

I always liked Jeroen Thorndyke, so I brought him back as the Doctor. Nikola Hanssen appeared from her role in Captain Atom: Armageddon. The relaunch of WildStorm in 'Worldstorm' was a good IDEA, but in practice it was horribly flubbed. Therefore I included it in the list of things to 'fix' to put the world back together.

I had them get the Planetary Guides because I love the series Planetary, honestly. I was disappointed to see it not even get mentioned in the Wildstorm reboot, though in my opinion it should stay unchanged. Elijah may even be aware of both reboots, which would make a interesting story to write...

Regarding Stormwatch: I had no problem with the disbanding of the team at the end of Ellis' run, but I never saw them staying disbanded. ESPECIALLY after messing with a country's government. Despite the UN not being able to 'afford' Stormwatch, I could easily see China and the US throwing money at the UN to get the team going again.

Regarding Gen 13: I'm really torn about bringing back the original run of the series or following Gail Simone's reboot of the title. I like both, especially the Adam Warren written Gen 13 issues, and I'm not sure which I would want to feature.

I may or may not continue this in some form. Depends on interest and if I get inspired.


End file.
